Two undefeated contenders were not selected when deciding the next challenger to UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski.

Both Lerone Murphy and Movsar Evloev were bypassed with Diego Lopes (27-7 MMA, 6-2 UFC) set to challenge Volkanovski (27-4 MMA, 14-3 UFC) for the 145-pound belt in the UFC 325 main event on Jan. 31 in Sydney. Lopes just suffered a loss to "The Great" in a vacant title bout at UFC 314 in April, but his win over Jean Silva in September was enough to position him for a rematch.

Murphy (17-0-1 MMA, 9-0-1 UFC), who had seemingly warranted an opportunity at gold with a spinning back elbow knockout of Aaron Pico at UFC 319, expressed his disappointment in being snubbed (via X):

Evloev (19-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) took the situation with a more forward-thinking approach. The Russian hasn't competed since a narrow decision victory over Aljamain Sterling at UFC 300 in April 2024, and instead of complaining, challenged Murphy to a showdown of undefeated contenders (via X):

It remains to be seen how the UFC will book the rest of the weight class in the wake of Volkanovski vs. Lopes. Murphy is currently No. 3 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie featherweight rankings, while Evloev is No. 2 and holds a head-to-head win over No. 4-ranked Lopes.

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Lerone Murphy, Movsar Evloev react to UFC 325 title shot snub

Reporting by Mike Bohn, MMA Junkie / MMA Junkie

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect